Middlesbrough

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Middlesbrough's Hayden Hackney and Morgan Whittaker are both "better" and have not been ruled out of the side's huge game against Ipswich Town on Sunday (12:00 BST), boss Kim Hellberg says.

Midfielder Hackney has missed four league games with a calf injury, while top scorer Whittaker has not played in their past five.

Boro are also missing midfielder Leo Castledine with a leg issue, and left-back Alex Bangura, who has struggled for fitness all season.

Winger Sammy Silvera returned to the bench in the 1-0 loss to Portsmouth after an 11 game absence with a stress fracture.

But Hellberg is hopeful that his key players can make their comeback in the four remaining games of the regular season.

"Missing them is a big thing but all the players are getting closer to play," Hellberg told BBC Radio Tees.

"I hope that all those players that have been injured in a way will play a part in some of those games and then it's just a matter of time how quickly it is."

Listen to the full interview on BBC Sounds

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Ipswich Town's quest for automatic promotion took a hit after Tuesday's shock 2-0 defeat at Portsmouth which meant the race for second place is back on.

The Tractor Boys currently occupy the second spot now only two points ahead of Millwall and three in front of both Southampton and Sunday's opponents (12:00 BST) Middlesbrough.

Pompey were also the side to deal a blow to Boro's top two hopes after Kim Hellberg's side fell to a 1-0 home defeat last Saturday, but Ipswich's defeat at Fratton Park leaves the door ajar.

With Boro picking up just one win in their past six games, three points at Portman Road could go a long way in securing a play-off place.

• Ipswich have won just one of their last 10 league games against Middlesbrough (D3 L6), a 2-0 away win in December 2023.

• Middlesbrough are unbeaten in their last four away league games against Ipswich (W2 D2), having been winless in their previous nine visits to Portman Road (D4 L5).

• Ipswich have lost the fewest home matches in the Championship this season (1/21), and are unbeaten in their last 15 home league games (W10 D5).

• Since the start of March, Middlesbrough have only scored 11 goals from 19 xG in the Championship – this is the biggest underperformance of any side in this period (-8). They failed to score in the defeat to Portsmouth last time out, despite having 20 shots and hitting the target eight times.

• Riley McGree has been directly involved in eight league goals for Middlesbrough this season (5 goals, 3 assists), and could equal both his most goals (6) and goal involvements (9) in a single Championship campaign (both from 2022-23).

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On Tuesday, we asked for your thoughts on Middlesbrough's chances of automatic promotion - and whether they have enough to hold on to a play-off spot.

Boro are fifth and three points behind second-placed Ipswich, having played one game more, but visit the Tractor Boys on Sunday (kick-off 12:00 BST).

Kim Hellberg's side also travel to Wrexham on the final day - the Welsh side are currently seventh and eight points behind, though Boro do also hold a 17-goal advantage over the Red Dragons on goal difference.

Here are some of your responses:

Jezza: Play-offs for the Boro this season and unlikely to get to the final. Hellberg's Boro are an excellent possession-based team. Unfortunately, possession doesn't always transfer to points and a plan B is not evident.

Andy: Think we've blown the best chance we've had for a good 10 years. We need a striker who can score, a team that doesn't just want to pass the ball into the net. So disappointed, praying the play-offs will be kind to us, if we make it!

Andrew: I still think we can do it. We've had slumps before. I believe in Steve Gibson. I believe in Kim Hellberg. I believe in the players. I believe in the fans. Come on Boro!

John: We can't score goals so a last day shootout with Wrexham looks ominous as was last year at Coventry. Even if we stay in a play-off place, we have no momentum and our record in the play-offs is not good.

Luke: It's a must win this weekend for us to have a chance at automatics but due to our current run of form and lack of goals from our strikers in particular, my hopes have dwindled to almost zero for us going up automatically this year.

Bernie: Miracles can happen. It's in our hands to beat Ipswich and get our act together. It's a shame we did not see the potential of [Josh] Coburn. I feel a player like him in our forward line would have given us a lot more options. I think the club may live to regret taking money for him and could cost [us] a huge amount if we don't go up. Come on Boro, go for it.

Paul: Personally, I think we will be lucky to get a play-off spot, the other teams around us are on good runs and picking vital points up. I just can't see where our next three points will come from?

Lewis: Sorry to say it but we've blown it. Southampton are flying and look like they'll take second. Unfortunately, history, combined with current form, gives me no faith we'll do anything in the play-offs. We've got absolutely no clue how to score goals. At least we'll know what position to spend the Hackney money on!

Francis: We've been hampered by the same issue we've had for years, no striker. We've signed plenty of forwards that can play all along the front line but no player that has a natural instinct for goal.

Without that threat teams have been able to set up against us and prevent us getting anything. In a certain respect we are quite lucky to be playing Ipswich and Wrexham as they need to beat us for their own promotion chances as much as we need to beat them for ours.

This may produce more open games with more opportunity for us to take three points. Having said that, I think realistically automatic promotion is gone and that we might possibly be fighting Wrexham on the last day to remain in the top six.

It's been quite a few days on Teesside.

Boro's last-gasp defeat by lowly Portsmouth dealt their automatic promotion hopes a huge blow on Saturday as Ipswich capitalised to take over second place.

However, the Tractor Boys also lost to Pompey on Tuesday night, though their south coast rivals Southampton kept up their winning streak to climb into fourth, above Kim Hellberg's side on goal difference.

Just three points separate four teams in the battle for second but Boro head to Portman Road for a crunch match on Sunday (12:00 BST) while Ipswich also visit Southampton during the run-in.

So how are you feeling, Boro fans? Has this run of three points from six games blown your chances, or is the door still open to get things right in the final four games? And does the final-day trip to Wrexham make you fear for even a top-six finish with the way things are going?

Click here to have your say.

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Middlesbrough boss Kim Hellberg admitted the Teessiders were not good enough after they suffered a late, shock defeat to Portsmouth.

Conor Chaplin scored in the 97th minute with Portsmouth's only shot on target to stretch Middlesbrough's winless run to six games.

Ipswich have marched clear in the race for the second automatic promotion place and Hellberg admits they were poor.

"We were not good enough," he told BBC Radio Tees. "We lacked energy, quality and structure.

"That is different from other games. Sometimes we played well without the result. Today we were not good enough except defensively. It makes you flat and disappointed.

"We didn't have our best game. We played three in a week, some games are better than others. We didn't defend the second phase of the corner well enough. That has been a theme of the home games.

"Six in a row without a win from a team that plays good football. That is not a feeling you want, we are trying to make it right but we are not succeeding. That is my responsibility."

Middlesbrough boss Kim Hellberg said he is feeling plenty of positivity from the club's supporters despite a five-game winless run which has led to them dropping out of the Championship's automatic promotion places.

Boro were beaten 2-1 at home by promotion rivals Millwall on Good Friday, before needing Tommy Conway to convert from the penalty spot to claim a 2-2 draw at Swansea on Monday.

"The supporters I have met have been brilliant, so proud of the team, proud of how we play, and they have been so supportive," Hellberg told BBC Radio Tees.

"Overall, it might sound weird, but what I get from everyone is a lot of affection for how we play, how we act, how the team has created opportunities. And mainly the last thing everyone says is it has to turn and that's where you still believe, but you have to make it turn, and that's what we're trying to do."

Middlesbrough host Portsmouth on Saturday (15:00 BST) and the head coach only has his sights on one thing.

"It's all about winning the game, that's the most important thing," he said.

"With different players out, quality players out, different players in different positions, without the momentum of winning games, we have kept playing great football and creating opportunities and we have to take great belief out of that."

Listen to more Middlesbrough interviews and content on BBC Sounds.

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The EFL has announced the fixtures for the 2026-27 season will be published at midday on Thursday, 25 June.

The first-round draws for the Carabao Cup and the Vertu Trophy will be made on the same day.

The new season will kick off on the weekend of August 7-9 with the first round of the Carabao Cup, and the opening fixtures in the Championship, League One and League Two will follow a week later on 14-16 August.

The first round of the Vertu Trophy will be played in the week commencing 21 September.

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Middlesbrough welcome Portsmouth for a vital clash at both ends of the Championship table on Saturday afternoon (kick-off 15:00 BST).

Having spent three months in the automatic promotion places, Boro slipped to third with defeat to Millwall and a draw at Swansea over the Easter weekend.

Relegation-battling Pompey have picked up just three points in eight games since their impressive 3-1 win at Millwall on 21 February, meaning they now sit just one point clear of Leicester in 22nd, albeit with a game in hand.

• Middlesbrough have won just one of their past nine league games against Portsmouth (D5 L3), a 3-1 away win in March 2012.

• Following their 1-0 win in October, Portsmouth are looking to complete the league double over Middlesbrough for the first time since 1993-94.

• Middlesbrough are winless in their past five Championship games (D3 L2), their longest run of the season. Since the date of that first winless game, they've had 48 more shots than any other side (126) and 122 more touches in the opposition's box than anyone else (272). Despite this, they've only scored four goals and have the worst shot conversion (3.2%), underperforming their xG by 8.9 (4 goals, 12.9 xG).

• Portsmouth have gone eight Championship matches without winning (D3 L5), their worst winless run since failing to win their first nine games of 2024-25.

• Middlesbrough's Hayden Hackney has created the most chances both overall (83) and in open play (62) in the Championship this season. He's also completed 848 passes in the final third, the fourth-most by a player in a Championship season (excl. play-offs) on record since 2013-14.

Head coach Kim Hellberg believes Middlesbrough should have been out of sight before suffering a costly second half turnaround at the hands of Millwall.

Boro led at half-time thanks to a Dael Fry header, but that was the least they merited for a commanding performance.

But the Lions turned the match on its head in the second period, with ex-Boro forward Josh Coburn scoring twice on his Riverside return to seal all three points.

Defeat meant Middlesbrough fall out of the automatic promotion spots at Millwall's expense, making the defeat even harder to accept.

"It hurts a lot," Hellberg told BBC Radio Tees.

"Sometimes it feels like some higher power up there tests us so much and we have to be strong.

"In many ways, I'm thinking this was a performance that should have killed the game off and been dead and buried after 60 minutes, 4-0 or 5-0.

"The boys were doing it unbelievably good after coming back one or two days ago against a good side, so it's tough."

Middlesbrough head coach Kim Hellberg has urged his players and the fans to enjoy the push for automatic promotion to the Premier League.

Second-placed Boro are two points clear of Ipswich in third, having played a game more than the Tractor Boys, and host promotion rivals Millwall in a vital encounter on Friday lunchtime (12:30 BST).

The Lions are also just two points back in fourth and would leapfrog Boro with victory at the Riverside.

"It's one month of the Championship left and that is an intense period," Hellberg told BBC Radio Tees.

"All of the games will be important. Big games, a lot of games to play in a short amount of time, but this is what we're in the sport for."

Despite Ipswich having a game in hand, the fact Boro visit Portman Road on 18 April means their promotion fate is still in their own hands.

Hellberg said it will be a lot of "hard work, emotions and ups and downs" but stressed it is important to "enjoy these moments because you don't get so many".

"To be in this position with seven games left, one month left, it is a brilliant position to be in and a very good time to be alive," he added.

"Of course, when you play against a rival at the top, it will be crucial to get the points.

"I'm just looking forward to it."